Arrests Made in Brutal Gayborhood Attack

NBC10 reports that two suspects — 27-year-old Matthew Morris (above, left) and 32-year-old Miguel Maldonado — have been arrested and charged with robbery and aggravated assault following a brutal attack that happened on Nov.10 in the Gayborhood.

The two allegedly attacked 36-year-old Nick Forte on the corner of 12th and Saint James streets. Philly Gay News describes the bone-chilling incident:

[Forte] was struck on the head from behind with what might have been a metal object. He said he lost consciousness but believes he was pulled further onto Saint James and repeatedly punched and kicked. Forte, who was on his way to hail a cab after a night at ICandy, said he is unsure if he was attacked by one or two people. He said he was unconscious near the intersection of Camac and Saint James streets until about 3:30 a.m., when a passerby leaving Voyeur found him. The woman, who was unknown to him, roused him and attempted to take him to a hospital, but was unable to find assistance or a willing cab driver and transported him to his parents’ house in her own car.

On Nov. 14, a 29-year-old woman was beaten and raped on this same corner in the Gayborhood, and in July we reported that Cimmaron Craig was attacked and robbed near there, too. In PGN Detective Shoemaker of Central Detectives offers advice on how to stay safe

“Be alert of who’s around you, who’s behind you,” Shoemaker said. “About 90 percent of the robberies I get start when somebody stops you to ask for the time or for a cigarette. Because of the beating [Forte] took, he doesn’t have a lot of memory of how it happened, but a lot of these robberies start like that.” Forte said this was not the first time he was victimized in the Gayborhood; he said he and his sister were once held up in the area, and he was also attacked on 13th Street several years ago. “There’s a lot of crime up there,” Forte said.